Leeds United Sign Italian Duo Following Ross McCormack's £11m Departure

Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino has confirmed the club have signed Marco Silvestri and Tommaso Bianchi following Ross McCormack's £11m move to Fulham.

The Yorkshire club today confirmed the departure of their club captain and their top scorer last season in the latest change to rock Elland Road following Cellino's takeover in April.

McCormack handed in a transfer request last month and despite Cellino's insistence the Scot would remain at the club, he has completed his move to west London to become the 13<sup>th departure this summer.

But following the striker's departure, Cellino has confirmed to the Yorkshire Evening Post that the club have completed the signings of Silvestri and Bianchi and are deep in negotiations for a third player - Sassuolo centre half Jonathan Rossini.

Goalkeeper Silvestri, 23, has signed a four-year contract with the club having being locked in talks for a number of weeks. He is the second shot-stopper to join the club this summer following the arrival of Stuart Taylor. Reports suggest that Paddy Kenny, the former Sheffield United and Queens Park Rangers player, has been axed by Cellino due to his birthday falling on 17 May, a number the Italian businessman is said to be highly superstitious of.

The club have also sealed a move for 25-year-old midfielder Bianchi. Having spent last season on loan with Modena in Serie B, Leeds have agreed a deal with his parent club Sassuolo and agreed a three-year deal with the former Italy under-21 international.

Defender Rossini, 25, could soon join them, having represented both Sassuolo and Parma during the 2013-14 season.

Following McCormack's departure, a striker now stands as a priority for the club this summer. The Scot's 29 Championship goals last season were the one constant during a tumultuous campaign, but his departure and his £11m transfer fee will not force Cellino to stray too far from his initial plans for the club over the coming months.

When asked if the money from the McCormack deal would be reinvested in head coach David Hockaday's squad, Cellino told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "The players we're going to buy, we were buying anyway. So we need another forward now.

"We needed a team, not just one or two players like we had last season, and we'll sign the same people because it wasn't the plan to sell McCormack and use the money for transfers. In my head he was staying but things happen."